I would have done it days ago. Settling for flipping him the bird, I stomped across the room to the stairs leading to the main floor. Of course I needed to catch the bitch who was terrorizing Low Town. It was all part of my plan to keep Trixie safe. There was no doubt that she was feeling particularly vulnerable now that she was a target, even though you couldn’t tell she was pregnant if you looked at her. And then Ellen was pregnant as well, making her a potential target. Damn, I had to catch this psychopath!
Halfway up the stairs, I stopped and turned to find Gideon standing on the bottom of the stairs, ready to ascend behind me. “Can you get me into a library in one of the Towers?”
Gideon jerked back in surprise at my request. “Why?”
“I need to know more about this Death Magic if we’re to figure out who is trying to use it now. I need to know who created it, who used it, and who put a stop to its use. I also need to know how it’s used.” Gideon frowned at me, looking less than enthusiastic about my stepping foot inside the Towers again. “We’re at a disadvantage here, not knowing shit about what this bastard is up to. The more we know, the faster we might be able to identify who or what this is. It’s not like I’m going to start using it. I just want to know what we’re up against.”
The warlock nodded slightly, his frown starting to fade. “I agree, but your induction into the guardians was a . . . provisional thing. You don’t have the full rights of a warlock. I’ll need to do some checking to see if I can arrange something. If I can get you in, it’s not likely to be a comfortable thing.”
“Nothing ever is where the Towers are concerned,” I said with a sigh. “Just see what you can do.”
“I will.” I started to walk up the stairs again when Gideon’s voice stopped me. It was one of the few times I had ever heard him sounding hesitant and unsure. The warlock was always so confident in everything he did and said, I was a little taken aback. “If you think you can tolerate it, I’d also like to teach you a few things. Spells. Wards. A few charms. Protection items that would help make your life a little safer.”
I smiled, though he couldn’t see it because I wasn’t looking back at him. He was actually afraid that I’d turn him down. That was laughable. “Bring it on. I’ll take all the help I can get.”
CHAPTER 4
Something inside of me relaxed when I stepped over the threshold of Asylum just after noon that day. The quiet in the parlor was absolute. Standing in the center of the front lobby, the silence crept into my soul, settling the raging frustration and building sense of helplessness so that I could draw my first deep breath in days.
Asylum Tattoo Parlor was mine. It was my refuge. It was my castle. It was my domain. TAPSS slithered in every once in a while to throw their bureaucratic weight around, but they could not tear down these walls. And so far, the Towers had yet to find me here, even though Gideon’s shadow had crossed the doorstep on more than one occasion.
The world made sense when seen through the large front window of Asylum. The people who came through my door wanted ink or they wanted a fix for their problems. They needed help with their love life or illness or luck. They needed something to give them an edge in a world where humans weren’t the top dog. And I could do it with a potion.
It was just ironic that I didn’t know the right potion that would fix all the problems in my life.
After resetting the antiglamour spell I had carved in the floor of the lobby and replacing the large area rug, I jacked the heat back up and put away my winter coat. The daily routine of opening the shop—checking the ingredients and other supplies, turning on lights, reviewing my schedule as well as the schedules of my employees so I knew who was due when—helped to settle my ragged nerves more than any number of Jack Daniels shots could have. I’d had Asylum for several years and I could go through all those motions without a thought, which I welcomed. The